Thrissur: The death of a three-and-a-half-year-old girl in Ernakulam, allegedly killed by her mother, took a shocking turn on Thursday after police confirmed that the child had been sexually abused by her uncle before her death.

The case has once again brought into focus the alarming number of child sexual abuse incidents in Kerala involving close family members.

When examining the data available from the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB), it has come to light that 908 of the accused in child sexual abuse cases reported in Kerala last year were either relatives or family members of the victims. Of these, 397 were identified as relatives, while 511 were other family members.

According to the SCRB report, 4,652 children were victims of sexual abuse in 2023. The total number of accused persons stood at 5,044, as some cases involved multiple offenders. Notably, 18 per cent of the accused were related to the victims.

The data also reveals that 24 per cent of the incidents happened in the victims’ homes, while the location was unspecified in 23 per cent of the cases. The report further mentions that 22 children housed in child protection institutions were also subjected to sexual abuse.